This page was created in 2.5508 seconds.
Babylon 5 - The Complete First Season
Amazon Price: $44.99List Price: Usually ships in 24 hours By: Warner Brothers - Model: D22855D Amazon Marketplace: 81 new & used starting at $19.97 |
Buy at Amazon.com |
Features:
Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 232
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
Editorial Review:
The epic sci-fi series Babylon 5 was a unique experiment in the history of television. It was effectively a novel for television in five seasons, consisting of 110 episodes with a clear beginning, middle, and end. The first season introduces the main characters, headed this year by Commander Jeffery Sinclair (Michael O'Hare) and Security Chief Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle), and familiarizes the audience with the unique environment of a five-mile-long space station in the year 2257.The first episode, "Midnight on the Firing Line," plays at a breathless pace, introducing Commander Susan Ivanova (Claudia Christian) and establishing the conflict between the Narn and Centauri races as represented by their ambassadors, G'Kar (Andreas Katsulas) and Londo Mollari (Peter Jurasik). Then follow several mediocre episodes that initially give the impression that B5 is a Star Trek clone afflicted with "silly alien of the week" syndrome. With "And the Sky Full of Stars," B5 really begins to hit its stride, Sinclair being forced to relive his mysterious experiences during the Earth-Minbari war. Filler shows such as "TKO" are notable only for being controversially violent, while the disappointing "Grail" points to writer-creator J. Michael Straczynski's fascination with Arthurian mythology. "Signs and Portents" introduces the sinister Mr. Morden (Ed Wasser) and offers the chilling first appearance of the Shadows, an ancient alien threat.
B5 hits warp speed with a run of exceptional episodes building to the season finale. The two-part "Voice in the Wilderness" has Mars breaking into open revolt against Earth and the discovery of a "Great Machine" on the dead world Epsilon 3. Referencing 1950s sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet, the story leads to the superb time-travel-based "Babylon Squared." Season finale "Chrysalis" proves more than just the usual television cliffhanger, placing Minbari ambassador Delenn in conflict with her ruling Grey Council and forcing on her a decision that laid the groundwork for Babylon 5's eventually becoming a great love story. --Gary S. Dalkin
Babylon 5 - The Complete Fifth Season
Amazon Price: $44.99List Price: Usually ships in 24 hours By: 6295 - Model: 6295 Amazon Marketplace: 83 new & used starting at $19.98 |
Buy at Amazon.com |
Features:
Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 65
Average rating: 4.0 of 5
Editorial Review:
A disappointment after the superb two previous seasons, the final run of Babylon 5 found Claudia Christian departed and Ivanova replaced by Captain Elizabeth Lochley (Tracy Scoggins), who in a soap-opera twist turned out to be Sheridan's first wife. Sheridan was promoted to President of the Interstellar Alliance and the action moved to a group of telepaths seeking sanctuary from the PSI-Corp on B5. Giving a prominent role to Patricia Tallman's Lyta Alexander, a love story for her was woven with the leader of the telepaths, Byron (Robin Atkin Downs). Meanwhile the aftermath of the Shadow War was explored as the origin of human telepaths became clear in "Secrets of the Soul," and the appearance of PSI-Corp's Bester (Walter Koenig) brought the plight of the refugees to a powerful close in "A Tragedy of Telepaths" and "Phoenix Rising."This was immediately followed by a rare episode not written by J. Michael Straczynski. Much was expected of "Day of the Dead," penned by Neil Gaiman, the British creator of DC's landmark Sandman comic and graphic novel series. Yet despite a change of tone including a guest appearance by Penn & Teller as 23rd-century comedy favorites Rebo & Zooty, the story proved an incongruous side trip into an unexplained twilight zone of fantasy. As usual the season picked up toward the end, with a string of fine political episodes leading to "The Fall of Centauri Prime" and the haunting "Objects at Rest," in which Sheridan and Delenn leave Babylon 5 for new quarters on Minbar.
The final episode, "Sleeping in Light," was directed by J. Michael Straczynski and made an epilogue to the series. Set 20 years later, after all the sound and fury this quiet, elegiac tale is the apotheosis of the love story that proved the balance to the tragedy of the preceding darkness. A personal story resolved against a background of the epic, at once transcendent, deeply human, and profoundly optimistic, "Sleeping in Light" is as moving as any hour in the history of television drama and a thoroughly satisfying conclusion to one of the greatest series ever made. --Gary S. Dalkin
Babylon 5 - The Complete Fourth Season
Amazon Price: $44.99List Price: Usually ships in 24 hours By: Warner Brothers - Model: D27972D Amazon Marketplace: 68 new & used starting at $19.00 |
Buy at Amazon.com |
Features:
Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 79
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
Editorial Review:
Season 4 began on a high point with the Centauri Prime in the grip of the insane Emperor Cartagia (Wortham Krimmer) and a run of six shows leading to the climax of the war against the Shadows in "Into the Fire." If this colossal narrative was resolved a little too easily and the ultimate aim of the Shadows turned out to be a tad disappointing, it still proved to be the most powerful slice of space opera to ever grace the small screen. In the aftermath the sheer scale dropped back a little but the pace never slowed as the rest of the season played out in one relentless cycle of conspiracy, betrayal and conflict, Babylon 5 siding with the rebel Mars colony against the totalitarian Earth.Meanwhile Delenn came increasingly into conflict with her own people and, paralleling her relationship with Sheridan, Garibaldi became involved with his ex-fiancée Lise Hampton (Denise Gentile), while an intense platonic love grew between Ivanova and Marcus Cole. On an unstoppable wave fuelled by roller-coaster plot twists and spectacular action shows from "No Surrender, No Retreat"--when Sheridan avows to overthrow EarthGov--to "Rising Star"--when the aim is realized--Babylon 5 achieved a consistent excellence rare in television. Yet within that run "Intersections in Real Time" stood out as a bold experiment; essentially a two-hand drama taking place entirely within one dimly lit room. Beyond this a major character died and Sheridan and Delenn married before the season finale again broke with expectation. In "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars," a future descendant of humanity one million years hence reviews excerpts from the history of Babylon 5. In one sequence set in 2762, a Brother is devoted to the preserving of history some time after the "Big Burn." A homage to Walter M. Miller's classic A Canticle for Leibowitz, Sheridan and Delenn have themselves become the stuff of legend. --Gary S. Dalkin
Babylon 5 - The Complete Third Season
Amazon Price: $44.99List Price: Usually ships in 24 hours By: Warner Brothers - Model: 24243 Amazon Marketplace: 76 new & used starting at $19.98 |
Buy at Amazon.com |
Features:
Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 87
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
The galaxy goes to hell 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
Following up on the dramatic action from the previous season, the third season of Babylon 5 throws on yet more exciting story, in the form of the Earth Alliance and its eventual civil war.
Key to this storyline are 'the Trilogy' - "Messages from Earth", "Point of No Return", and the Hugo-award winning "Severed Dreams". These episodes are extremely highly regarded (rightfully so, in my opinion), and mark the beginning of the major two-front war the Babylon 5 characters would face until the end of Season 4.
Even as the civil war erupts, though, Sheridan and company must still deal with the Shadows continuing to make their move in the galaxy and the Vorlons finally getting involved. The ominous Morden (great performance throughout by Ed Wasser) continues to haunt Londo, and the way characters react as the galaxy falls apart around them is fascinating.
I'm torn as to which I prefer - this or the previous season, but both mark some of the finest science fiction ever produced in any medium.
Editorial Review:
In 2259 Babylon 5's captain declares the station an independent state and forms a war council to battle the evil Shadows--and their allies on Earth.Running Time: 968 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY UPC: 085392424320 Manufacturer No: 24243
Babylon 5 - The Complete Second Season
Amazon Price: $44.99List Price: Usually ships in 24 hours By: WARNER HOME VIDEO - Model: 24242 Amazon Marketplace: 68 new & used starting at $21.75 |
Buy at Amazon.com |
Features:
Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 127
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
Babylon 5 Rules the Universe 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
Babylon 5, Seasons 1 through 5, is among the best Sci-Fi available. Its 5 year Arc is unique and its potential for massive spin offs is endless. To fully appreciate the series one should watch it in order, night after night, until the series is finished.
Enjoy...
Greatest Show of All Time 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
I realize my title is a little over the top, but I really do feel that this is the greatest TV show ever made.
Why? The audacity of it, the bold story arcs, telling a gigantic story over five years. The characters, too, are very well done. The acting is better than can be expected from such a large production and cast. The way fascism unfolds to envelop Earth, very Orwellian, very prescient for our times. I also was really intrigued by the religious themes, which I hadn't really caught on to the first time I watched it. Very very good writing, and at times, inspiring dialogue.
I had seen this on TV many years ago, and got hooked, but now that they are on DVD, I am happy to own them. It is really a treasure to have these DVDs. One of the highlights for me was that the menu system was not bogged down in ads and warnings. You pretty much put the DVD in your player and can get to an episode fast.
If you are a sci-fi fan, if you liked the original Star Wars, Foundation books, or even Lord of the Rings, I imagine this will be a set for you. It is epic! If you are unsure, and just want to test out the waters, I might recommend starting with this season... but you should definitely get them all. Truly a classic set to own, a must have for the series sci-fi buff. One reason to start with the first season is that in the third has a major payoff regarding the first. So get em ALL! :)
Editorial Review:
This 6-DVD set includes all 22 episodes from The Complete Second Season of the cult science-fiction favorite Babylon 5.
Running Time: 960 min.
Format: DVD MOVIE
Babylon 5 - The Movie Collection
Amazon Price: $47.99List Price: Usually ships in 24 hours By: Warner Brothers - Model: WARD33437D Amazon Marketplace: 38 new & used starting at $39.85 |
Buy at Amazon.com |
Features:
Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 65
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
Editorial Review:
The Babylon 5 pilot movie The Gathering was originally broadcast in 1993 a full year ahead of the regular show. A somewhat dull tale of an attempt to assassinate Koch, the Vorlon ambassador to B5, the feature served to introduce Commander Jeffery Sinclair (Michael O'Hare) and Security Chief Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle) as well as familiarize the audience with the unique environment of a five-mile-long space station in the year 2257. Missing many of the main cast, and suffering from a leaden pace and mediocre music score, series creator J Michael Straczynski later improved The Gathering by tightening the cut for a special edition (the version released on DVD), adding some deleted character moments and commissioning a new score from series composer Christopher Franke.Four new TV movies were part of the deal to syndicate Babylon 5. In the Beginning is a prelude set 10 years before Babylon 5, telling the story of the Earth-Minbari war. Told retrospectively, many of the mysteries revealed gradually in the main series are recounted, making the show a collection of spoilers for newcomers while adding little for established fans. It is effective to see events only previously talked about, and enjoyable to have most of the main cast playing younger versions of themselves. River of Souls is a self-contained adventure featuring a return of the Soul Hunters from Season One, while Thirdspace offers a spectacular Lovecraftian space opera which slots into the saga after the end of the Shadow War. A Call to Arms is the most important of the TV films, laying the ground for the future TV series Crusade. Set five years after the Shadow War, it tells the story of a Drahk revenge attack on Earth. A final showcase for Bruce Boxleitner as Sheridan, the story fits between fifth-season episodes "Objects at Rest" and "Sleeping in Light." The cliffhanger ending sets the scene for new starship Excalibur to boldly go on a five-year mission to explore strange new worlds and find a cure for the Shadow virus infecting the Earth. --Gary S. Dalkin
Babylon 5 - The Lost Tales
Amazon Price: $19.99List Price: Usually ships in 24 hours By: Warner Brothers - Model: WARD112984D Amazon Marketplace: 43 new & used starting at $17.50 |
Buy at Amazon.com |
Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 403
Average rating: 3.5 of 5
One of the best shows EVER on television 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
Stories of developing characters were theaded and interwoven as the seasons progressed. This series was simply one of the best written shows ever aired on broadcast television. Of course it had to be cancelled. Wise, smart, funny, passionate, complex; it was just too good for the [...]-tube. The sci-fi format created safe space to explore contemporary moral and ethical issues without arousing an instant political backlash.
very good 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
a great moment to come back aboard babylon5. The mood is strange. the atmosphere is quite like a no man's land and it changes from the series. But it's a great pleasure to find the characters again. This is a very good film for babylon5's fans.
Great 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
Two great stories set in the B5 universe, well worth the watch. Both feel right for the B5 universe, dealing with questions of morality, spirituality, fate, and similar high-brow stuff.
It sort of felt like Babylon 5...a little, maybe. 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
I was really excited to finally get to see some new Babylon 5 after all of these years. Bruce Boxleitner's portrayal of Captain Sheridan results in one of my favorite on-screen heroes. Sadly, this two episode collection makes me realize that "no man is an island". Both Bruce Boxleitner and Tracy Scoggins are only part of the Babylon 5 universe, and both really felt like they were the only person in each episode, even though there were exactly 3 people in each episode of any significance. I always liked Peter Woodward's character as well, and was sad to never get to see the "Drakh plague" resolved in "Crusade".
While it was nice to see a continuation of JMS's masterpiece known as Babylon 5, it has a little bit of that feeling that "Indiana Jones - Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" gave me. I don't regret buying this two disc set, but it did make me cherish the rest of my Babylon 5 collection even more. Ivanova, Garibaldi, Zack, Delenn, Lennier, Londo, G'Kar(RIP), Steven (RIP), Jeffrey Sinclair and all of the supporting characters just worked together so well. Thank you, JMS for giving us the Babylon 5 universe, and vowing to not taint it's memory with any more ultra low budget additions. Hopefully, Warner Brothers will give you a decent budget some day so that you may continue with your vision. It's just too bad about the TNT issues, and that the SciFi channel seems more interested in playing an endless amount of "Ghost Hunters" and fake wrestling than real science fiction nowadays. It's OK though, all I need to do to get some quality science fiction is just to pop in one of my 30+ Babylon 5 DVDs :).
Editorial Review:
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 07/31/2007 Run time: 72 minutes Rating: R
Babylon 5 - The Complete Television Series (5-Pack)
Amazon Price: $199.99List Price: Usually ships in 24 hours By: Warner Brothers - Model: WARD34815D Amazon Marketplace: 37 new & used starting at $129.95 |
Buy at Amazon.com |
Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 85
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
Editorial Review:
The epic sci-fi series Babylon 5 was a unique experiment in the history of television. It was effectively a novel for television in five seasons, consisting of 110 episodes with a clear beginning, middle, and end. The first season introduces the main characters, headed this year by Commander Jeffery Sinclair (Michael O'Hare) and Security Chief Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle), and familiarizes the audience with the unique environment of a five-mile-long space station in the year 2257. The first episode, "Midnight on the Firing Line," plays at a breathless pace, introducing Commander Susan Ivanova (Claudia Christian) and establishing the conflict between the Narn and Centauri races as represented by their ambassadors, G'Kar (Andreas Katsulas) and Londo Mollari (Peter Jurasik). B5 hits warp speed with a run of exceptional episodes building to the season finale. The two-part "Voice in the Wilderness" has Mars breaking into open revolt against Earth and the discovery of a "Great Machine" on the dead world Epsilon 3. Referencing 1950s sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet, the story leads to the superb time-travel-based "Babylon Squared." Season finale "Chrysalis" proves more than just the usual television cliffhanger, placing Minbari ambassador Delenn in conflict with her ruling Grey Council and forcing on her a decision that laid the groundwork for Babylon 5's eventually becoming a great love story.Delenn's future love interest, Captain John Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) arrived on Babylon 5 in the first episode of season 2, "Points of Departure." The show marked the handing over of command of B5 to Sheridan from Commander Jeffery Sinclair, actor Michael O'Hare becoming a victim of studio politicians who wanted a bigger star in the leading role. "Revelations" explains that Sheridan's wife, Anna, died during an archaeological survey of the world Z'ha'dum, the name being just one of many references to Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (the bridge at Khazad-Dum). "The Coming of Shadows" proved to be Babylon 5's finest hour to date, and in "In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum," Sheridan learns that Morden was on the ship on which Anna died. Three exceptional shows conclude the season. The Narn-Centauri war escalates in "The Long, Twilight Struggle," Sheridan faces a most unusual ordeal in "Comes the Inquisitor," and in "The Fall of Night" all hope of peace is shattered as a nerve-racking assassination attempt reveals a startling secret about Ambassador Kosh.
"Matters of Honor" launched Babylon 5's third season with the introduction of the White Star, a spacecraft added to enable more of the action to take place away from the station. Also introduced was Marcus Cole (Jason Carter)--in another nod to The Lord of the Rings, a Ranger not so far removed from Tolkien's Strider. A third of the way through the season "Messages from Earth," "Point of No Return," and "Severed Dreams" prove pivotal, changing the nature of the story in a way previously unimaginable on network TV. Earth slides into dictatorship, the fascistic Nightwatch takes control of off-world security, and Sheridan take decisive action by declaring Babylon 5 independent. "Interludes and Examinations" presented the death of a major supporting character, while the two-part "War Without End" reached apocalyptic dimensions in a complex tale resolving the destiny of Sinclair and the fate of Babylon 4, resolving a 1,000-year-old paradox and presenting a vision of a very dark future for Sheridan and Delenn. All this was trumped by the monumental "Z'ha'dum." In the preceding "Shadow Dancing" Anna Sheridan (Melissa Gilbert, Bruce Boxleitner's real-life wife) returned from the dead, no longer entirely human. In the mythologically resonant climax Anna invited Sheridan back to the Shadow homeworld with no hope of survival. Just as in The Lord of the Rings Gandalf fell into the abyss at Khazad-Dum, so Sheridan took a comparable leap into the unknown on an alien world.
Season 4 began on a high point with the Centauri Prime in the grip of the insane Emperor Cartagia (Wortham Krimmer) and a run of six shows leading to the climax of the war against the Shadows in "Into the Fire." If this colossal narrative was resolved a little too easily and the ultimate aim of the Shadows turned out to be a tad disappointing, it still proved to be the most powerful slice of space opera to ever grace the small screen. In the aftermath the sheer scale dropped back a little but the pace never slowed as the rest of the season played out in one relentless cycle of conspiracy, betrayal and conflict, Babylon 5 siding with the rebel Mars colony against the totalitarian Earth. On an unstoppable wave fuelled by roller-coaster plot twists and spectacular action shows from "No Surrender, No Retreat"--when Sheridan avows to overthrow EarthGov--to "Rising Star"--when the aim is realized--Babylon 5 achieved a consistent excellence rare in television.
The final season found Claudia Christian departed and Ivanova replaced by Captain Elizabeth Lochley (Tracy Scoggins), who in a soap-opera twist turned out to be Sheridan's first wife. Sheridan was promoted to President of the Interstellar Alliance and the action moved to a group of telepaths seeking sanctuary from the PSI-Corp on B5. Meanwhile the aftermath of the Shadow War was explored, and as usual the season picked up toward the end, with a string of fine political episodes. The final episode, "Sleeping in Light," was directed by J. Michael Straczynski and made an epilogue to the series. Set 20 years later, after all the sound and fury this quiet, elegiac tale is the apotheosis of the love story that proved the balance to the tragedy of the preceding darkness. A personal story resolved against a background of the epic, at once transcendent, deeply human, and profoundly optimistic, "Sleeping in Light" is as moving as any hour in the history of television drama and a thoroughly satisfying conclusion to one of the greatest series ever made. --Gary S. Dalkin
Babylon 5 - The Legend of the Rangers
Amazon Price: $14.99List Price: Usually ships in 24 hours By: Warner Brothers - Model: WARD75725D Amazon Marketplace: 45 new & used starting at $13.47 |
Buy at Amazon.com |
Features:
Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 78
Average rating: 3.0 of 5
Not bad 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
If you are a Babylon 5 fan you will want to see it. Not great, but you might want to see it and add it to your collection. The first disc which I purchased from Amazon was not properly recorded -- skipped, was distorted. They sent me a second copy which was O.K.
A Classic! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
Many older television shows, especially Sci-Fi ones, don't hold up well over time. Babylon 5, however, stands the test of time. It's still watchable, still interesting, still enjoyable. A Classic!
should be 0 stars 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
I like cheesy science fiction to a fault. I've watched almost every bad science fiction movie from the 1950s to the present day, and enjoyed most of it. I like Babylon V; even the movies.
This is the worst idiocy bar none I have ever sat through. It is a plot written by a 3 year old mental defective. I'd like to design instruments, to be built by ancient and highly skilled German craftsmen which would subject the people responsible for this atrocity to exquisite and artistic torments. The people who are responsible for this "movie" should be slowly turned inside out and their entrails sprinkled with hydrofluoric acid. Honestly, it cost me 1.5 hours of my life, and all of my self respect. Don't make the same mistake I did. In fact, buy this video and light it on fire.
Editorial Review:
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 03/14/2006 Rating: Nr
Babylon 5: The Gathering/In the Beginning
Amazon Price: $14.99List Price: Usually ships in 24 hours By: 6296 - Model: 6296 Amazon Marketplace: 28 new & used starting at $5.42 |
Buy at Amazon.com |
Features:
Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 136
Average rating: 4.0 of 5
Editorial Review:
In spring 1993, a year before the Babylon 5 series was launched, the two-hour movie and series pilot "The Gathering" staked out the initial territory, introducing primary characters (some of whom would never appear again) and sketching the alliances and rifts in interplanetary diplomacy. The central story involves the attempted assassination of the newly arrived Vorlon, the mysterious Ambassador Kosh, at the hands of (perhaps) Commander Jeffrey Sinclair (Michael O'Hare). This is the reedited cut released on video, a stronger, more engaging film than the original, but still a broad first stab at characters that would be redefined through the course of the show's run."In the Beginning," produced between the fourth and fifth seasons, packs all the history alluded to in "The Gathering"--and more--into a prequel stuffed to the hatches with the epic doings of Earth, Minbar, Narn, and Centauri in the days before the Babylon stations were built. Infused with epic sweep and storytelling confidence by producer-writer Michael J. Straczynski and his cast and crew, it's an elegant, compelling addition to the Babylon 5 universe and a dramatic highlight of the series. It's not an ideal introduction, though, as it gives away the shadowy history slowly revealed through the first three seasons. --Sean Axmaker